Life Together in the Early Church

Since the book of Acts describes the practices of the earliest Christians, we might be tempted to think that the church is bound to do everything exactly as it was done in the first days of the new covenant community. Yet one important principle for interpreting biblical narrative is that narrative descriptions alone do not establish binding practice. In other words, that something was done in biblical times does not mean that we have to continue it. As a general rule, historical narrative is descriptive, not prescriptive. We should not take a narrative account as prescriptive unless other portions of Scripture prescribe the same practices.

By way of example, we know that devotion to the Apostles’ teaching (Scripture), the Lord’s Supper, fellowship, and prayer must continue until Christ returns because other New Testament texts command us to engage in these practices (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:17–34; 1 Thess. 5:17; 2 Tim. 4:1–2; 1 John 1:3). The same cannot be said of many of the practices of the early church described in today’s passage. For example, we cannot attend temple services together both because the temple is no longer standing and because we fully understand that Christ’s sacrifice has brought the temple and its sacrificial worship to an end (Heb. 10:18). It makes sense, however, that the earliest Christians would gather in the temple precincts, for they were from a Jewish background and were only beginning to understand the full ramifications of the new covenant.

Acts 2:43 tells us that in those days “many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” That is something else that does not continue on past the Apostolic age, for as we have seen, there can be no Apostles today. There are no living witnesses to the resurrection, none living who followed Jesus from the time of John the Baptist, and none who fulfill these qualifications who could confirm the Apostolic calling of those who do not (see Acts 1:21–22; Gal. 1:18–24). We also see that the earliest Christians owned all things in common, selling their possessions to meet the needs of others (Acts 2:44–45). Later New Testament references to the rich and to the poor imply that this practice was not mandatory but voluntary; therefore, it is not sinful for believers to own private property (Rom. 15:26; 1 Tim. 6:17–18). Nevertheless, the principle of generosity continues, and we are all called to do what we can to assist other believers if they have material needs (2 Cor. 8–9).